My creative piece was based on a GP consultation that I observed where the patient briefly spoke to us about his history of gastro-intestinal surgery. I wanted my piece to portray (quite literally) examples of intestinal surgeries, to show what the organs might look like having been resected, removed, re-attached etc. I found it really interesting to think about how Medicine has advanced to a point where patients can undergo many major surgeries and have organs and limbs partially/fully removed and still live with a life of good quality.

I chose one particular encounter because it really stuck out when I was thinking back to all the consultations I have observed/taken part in – I think because prior to meeting the patient, I wasn’t particularly enjoying learning about the gastro-intestinal system. In this consultation I learned a lot about the patient’s various conditions in their own words – their knowledge and experiences have really lodged in my memory.

I researched abdominal surgeries and selected what I thought would present well in crocheted form.  I was a bit nervous starting this piece because I usually crochet from a pattern which gives me instructions on what to do, I didn’t have a pattern in this case and had to make it up as I went along. Particularly at the beginning, there was a lot of trial and error when making the pieces but I got into a rhythm as I went along and I’m really pleased with how each of the pieces turned out – they look much better than I was expecting them to and they all resemble the organs they are meant to which was my main aim. I crocheted all the pieces separately and used large grey stitches to portray where the surgeries had taken place.